Enid Blyton

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EB was probably the most prolific and successful children's writer of the twentieth century. In three decades she produced more than four hundred titles: picture-books for small children, fairy stories, adventure stories, school stories, fantasy, religious and nature works, and two very popular weekly magazines. She hit her highest annual output—37 titles—twice: in 1951 and again in 1955.
Stoney, Barbara. Enid Blyton. Hodder and Stoughton, 1974.
233-5, 238-9
Editions of titles beginning with her name account for about 370 items in the Bodleian Library catalogue.
  • BirthName: Enid Mary Blyton
  • Married: Pollock; Darrell Waters
  • Pseudonyms: Mary Pollock
    In 1947 EB published as Mary Pollock (a version of her current married name, but one she used only once). When she re-issued this book under her own name (as she currently used it) three years later, it rose sharply in popularity.
    Ray, Sheila G. The Blyton Phenomenon. Andre Deutsch, 1982.
    43
    ; Justin Geste

Milestones

11 August 1897

EB was born above a shop at 354 Lordship Lane in East Dulwich, London, the eldest of her parents' three children.
Stoney, Barbara. Enid Blyton. Hodder and Stoughton, 1974.
15

Autumn 1942

EB issued the first title in her Famous Five adventure series: Five on a Treasure Island: An Adventure Story for Boys and Girls.
Stoney, Barbara. Enid Blyton. Hodder and Stoughton, 1974.
143
Solo: Search Oxford University Libraries Online. 18 July 2011, http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=OXVU1&fromLogin=true&reset_config=true.

21 March 1949

EB wrote that she had finished composing the first two books about her most famous character of all, Noddy. The first in the series, Noddy goes to Toyland, reached print the same year.
Stoney, Barbara. Enid Blyton. Hodder and Stoughton, 1974.
158-9

28 November 1968

EB died in a Hampstead nursing home, fourteen months after the death of her second husband .
Stoney, Barbara. Enid Blyton. Hodder and Stoughton, 1974.
178

Biography

Birth, Family, Influences

11 August 1897

EB was born above a shop at 354 Lordship Lane in East Dulwich, London, the eldest of her parents' three children.
Stoney, Barbara. Enid Blyton. Hodder and Stoughton, 1974.
15

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